Package and packaging



S.spt..8,.l942.` C. G. Mus-'NCH PACKAGE AND PACKAGING 2 Sheets-Sheet lFiled Jan. 10, 193B Sept. 8, 1942.

C. G. MUENCH PACKAGE AND PACKAGING Filed IJan. l0, 1938 2 sheets-sheet 2Afa/57065 /a 0% 2600 amb Joao Ptenteddsept. 8, 1942 PACKAGE ANDPACKAGING Carl G. Muench, New Orleans', La., assignor to The CelotexCorporation,

poration of Delaware Chicago, Ill., a cor- Application January 10, 1938,Serial No. 184,228:

(ci. 410o-A14) i 1o claims. This invention relates to the formation ofcompact self-sustaining packages of' various mate-I rials, inparticularl relating to the formation of more or less disintegratedilbrous'cellulose containing materials into such packages.

The shipment of such materials'as sugar cane bagasse, the brous residueof sugarcane resulting from the processes of production of sugar, straw,corn stalks, uifed paper, fiber, sawdust, extracted pine chips resultingfrom the extraction of turpentine from pine, raw cotton, straw, hay, oathulls, kapok, and other like and more or less similar materials, are inmany instances not economically feasible.

The economic bar to transportation of the above materials and similarmaterials arises due to their bulk since the weight of the v ariousmaterials mentioned runs generally from about 2 to 6 lbs. per cubic footand as it will be readily understood the bulk of materials of such lowdensity is so great that transportation offmaterials of such densitiesother than over very short distances is not economical. The economic barto more for surface protection than for any other reason as for examplethe formed 'packages of the more valuable materials such as cotton andkapok mayadvisedly be covered with burlap and lightly banded.

Packages of materials formed in accordance with the teachings of thisinvention, it has been discovered, may be readily disintegrated withvery surprising rapidity. On placing one of' these high "density balesin water,fpreferably warm water, the water is very quickly absorbedandthe package rapidly swells and expands three dimensionally and moistureis quickly absorbed throughout the material. .A package of bagasse bersformed in accordance with the teachings of this invention and `having adensity of between 45 and 50 lbs. per cubic footand of dimensions 4"' x4'; x 4" was completely saturated and disintegrated to substantially thecondition of the bagasse before formation into the package in a periodof approximately two minutes after submerision in warm water. The sameweight of package compressed into a package by bagasse, sawdust,extracted pine chips and other Y comparable materials. Y

It is a particular object of this invention to disclose a manner forpackaging materials of the general character above enumerated in suchmanner that these materials whenpackaged may be economically transportedfor fairly long distances. Incidental to the particular object of thisinvention, further objects of the invention are the formation of suchpackages at a high density, having coherence and especially having theproperty of being readily disintegrated when desired.

Packaging of materials of the general class enumerated, at high density,places them in a condition for economical transportation in\w hichconnection investigation discloses that rail andship freight rates aresuch that packages of these materials having a density oi -around 45 to50 lbs. per cubic foot are of an economic density. Co-

herence vof the packages is of extreme importance in that if thepackages must be secured with' heavy vsteel bandssuch as are used tosecure the ordinary Vdense super-compressed export bales of raw cotton,this constitutes a .severe handicap l ordinary baling methods, onedimensional compression, of about live times the volume or with adensity of about- 10 lbs. per cubic foot when similarly placed in warmwater was not completely saturated and disintegrated in a period ofseveral hours. It is to be understood thatv in the comparison abovegiven, there was no agitation in eithercase since, of course, the lowden- .sity package could have been readily broken up by stirrers or thelike and have been caused to Y become rapidly saturated throughcontinued agitation,

The objects of this invention are achieved by three-way compression, ofthe materials mentioned, in the procedure of packaging and in thedrawings accompanying this speciiication, the apparatus foraccomplishing such compression ls shown, together with illustrationsshowing the various steps of formation of a package. Also in thedrawings there areshown several curves illustrating therelationship'between various facn tors involved in the production of asatisfactory* package produced in accordance with the invention hereindisclosed. In the drawings; Figure f l-is a diagrammatic Vperspective ofthe packaging apparatus employed; yFigure 2-is a per-Y. spectiveillustrative of the original'volume and.- A

relative dimensions of the 'material to be packaged; Figure 3-is aperspective Vofthe volume or only very light restraining means arerequired,

and relative dimensions of the material lalter the iirst step ofpackaging; Figure 4-is a perspective of the volume and relativedimensions of the i material after the second step of packaging; FigureS-is a perspective of the volume and relative dimensions of the materialafter the third step of packaging; Figure G-is a curve showing therelationship between density of the package formed plotted against themoisture content of the material to be packaged; and Figure rl--is acurve illustrating the relationship between the "density of the packageformed plotted against specific material or other size of finishedpackage.

Washer bagasse, as the term is herein used, refers to sugar cane bagassewhich results from the usual operations of crushing sugar cane for therecovery of the cane juice therefrom as generally practiced in theproduction of sugar in Louisiana which bagasse has been further treatedas hereafter described. Ihe sugar cane bagasse produced resulting fromthe production of sugar is baled in a baling machine which is similar tothe ordinary baler used for the baling of straw, hay. and the like,except that it is somewhat more massively built, the bales producedthereby being substantially similar to the ordinary bale of hay, orstraw. These bales are stored under conditions Which bring about alimited retting of the bagasse as disclosed in the patent to Elbert C.Lathrop et al., No. 1,633,594. 'I'his retted bagasse is subjected to acooking with water at a steam pressure of about 50 lbs. per square inchfor about 45 to 60 minutes, is then removed from the cooker, run througha swing hammer shredder and washed with water to constitute, washerbagasse. This washer bagasse, dried but loose, that is, not compressed,has a density of about 3 to 4 lbs. per cubic foot.

In the formation of packaged washer bagassc in accordance with thisinvention, washer bagasse is loaded loosely into compression apparatus Iwhich is substantially a cubical chamber having very stronglyconstructed walls I4 with plungers II, I2 and I3 each of which operatethrough various faces of the walls I4. Before the chamber defined bythewalls I4 is loaded with the washer bagasse, plunger II is entirelyWithdrawn and plungers I 2 and I3 are withdrawn until the inner facesare fiush with the interior of the frame I4 of thev apparatus. Theinterior dimensions of frame I4 are, in the particular apparatus beingdescribed, 12" x 12" x 12" and an 8" depth of the washer bagasse isintroduced into the chamber to the end that approximately 2 lbs. ofwasher bagasse are introduced as a mass having dimensions 8" x 12 x 12"corresponding to dimensions A, B and C respectively, Figure 2. PlungersI2 and I3 are suitably anchored in their withdrawn positions as by pinsinserted through registering openings in the respective plungers andframe I4, such openings and pins not being shown as the arrangementthereof is obvious and would only tend to obscure the showing in thedrawings. Plunger II is then inserted into the opening of the upper faceof the frame work I4 as shown in Figure l and is forced downwardly byappropriately applied pressure.

It is to be uni. .rstood that plungers I I, I2 and i3 are operated bysuitable operating means, as by pressure cylinders or the like, suitablyconnected thereto. In experimental work done, thc plungers were forcedinwardly by suitably positioning the frame I4 and plunger to be forcedin,

wardly between the upper and lower faces of a hydraulic press. In.thepress used and under conditions as above described, plunger II wasforced downwardly a distance half of the dimension A to the dimension A'compressing the charge of washer bagasse down to the dotted line shownin Figure 2. The total force applied to plunger II was difficult to readon the gauge of the press but it was estimated that there was applied toplunger II a force of between 1 and 2 tons which; being applied on thesurface of the charge 12" x 12", resulted in a pressure of between 1 and2 tons per square foot, being exerted on the charge during this step ofthe compression. The pressure to be applied at. this stage of thecompression will of course vary somewhat, particularly in packagingdifferent materials but the figures given are indicative.

When plunger II is forced in to compress the` charge to the dimensionA', it is secured by suitable means such as by pins and registeringholes, not shown, provided in the frame I4 and plunger II, andthen thenext operation may proceed. Pressure is applied to plunger I2 to forceit inwardly, the pins previously mentioned as holding this plungerhaving, of course, been removed before the pressure is applied, andsuincient pressure is applied to compress the charge from the dimensionB to the dimension B', as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, thedimension B being 4". On the gauge of the press used the actual pressureapplied was diflicult to determine but pressure on the plunger appearedto be in the range of from 2 to 4 tons or at the rate of from around 5to 10 tons per square foot. After plunger I2 was forced inwardly tocompress the charge down to the dimension B as shown by the dotted linein Figure 3, this plunger was suitably secured in position as describedin connection with the securing of plunger II.

As the next step of the process, the plunger I3 was forced inwardly, thepins holding this plunger in withdrawn position, having of course beenremoved before the pressure was applied, and plunger I3 was forcedinwardly sufficiently to compress the charge from dimension Cfto adimension somewhat slightly less than dimension C being, for theparticular apparatus shown, 4". On the compression the gauge pressure onthe press ranged between 32 and 40 tons, being held as nearly aspossible to 35 tons, which being applied on a face 4" x 4" in dimension,that is, an area of 16 square inches, amounted to a pressure of between2 and 21/2` tons per square inch, averaging about 2% tons per squareinch.

Plungers II, I2 and I3 were then released and removed from frame I4 andthe resulting densely compressed packaged washer bagasse with dimensionsof approximately 4" x 4 x 4 was removed. The packaged washer bagasse.providing the proper moisture content was present at the beginning ofthe compression as will be hereinafter discussed, and compressed at afinal pressure of from 2 to 21/2 tons per square inch, will have onremoval from the apparatus a density of about 48 lbs. per cubic footwhich, overnight, will drop to about 43 lbs. per cubic foot the densityapparently does not further decrease,

that is, the package has no further expansion.

The moisture content of the charge, when the compression begins, isveryimportant in determining the density of the package when finallycompressed and in achieving the desired cohesion so that a firmv packagewhich may be handled and shipped will result from the procedure as abovedescribed. For washer bagasse the preferred moisture content of thecharge when placed in the frame for compression has been found to be amoisture content of approximately 11% based on the weight of the dry berand in this connection reference is made to Figure 6 of the drawings. Ifthe initial moisture content is the optimum as shown in Figure 6, thatis, 11%, the density with a final pressure of approximately 2 tons persquare inch is'the maximum and regain or expansion overnight is aminimum. It is, of course, to be understood that although a moisturecontent of 11% is the optimum, reasonable variation therefrom isallowable and will produce a satisfactory package as may be seen fromFigure 6 which shows that a satisfactory package can-be. made if thematerial as charged has a moisture content of from about to 15%, or if anal package of a somewhat lower density will serve, the moisture of thecharge may be outside of the approximate limits above noted, say betweenabout from 3 to 18%.

Reference to Figure 7 shows that on increasing the pressure for a givenmoisture content of charge there will result a finished package ofincreased density. By combining the teachings of Figures 6 and 7, it isobvious' that if for some reason it is necessary that the finishedpackage have a high density, the desired increased density may beobtained for a given initial moisture content of the charge by raisingthe pressure per square inch of the final pressing. As shown in Figure'T for washer bagasse of 10% initial moisture content, the density ofthe finished package may be raised from. 44 to-5l lbs.- per cubic footby raising the final pressing pressure from 1.87 tons to 2.5 tons persquare inch, or if a lower density will suice, for a given moisturecontent, in this case 10%, alesser pressure may be used on finalpressing as shown, a pressure of 1.25 tons per square inch resulting ina package having a density of about 4l lbs. per cubic foot. It appearsthat excessive pressure on i'lnal compression tends to injure the berand therefore it is suggested that in no case should pressure exceeding5 tons per sq. in. be` applied, this is of iluifed sulphite fiber, kraftlap, kapok and sieved raw bagasse.

'I'he experiments made with the various materials just mentioned, whichexperiments were carried on in considerable detail together with lessextensive experiments made with othermore orv less like and similarsubstances have clearly indicated that the method of packaging disclosedherein is applicable to cellulosic j materials generally, including suchmaterials as all of the usual paper making fibers, including suchmaterialsl'as cotton, ax, hemp. ramie, etc., and is also applicable toother less known materials such as peanut hulls, bean pods, rice, wheatLand oat hulls and other materials.

In the experimental procedure of packaging various of the materialsparticularly above mentioned, the procedure followed substantially isthat hereinbefore specifically set out but with some exceptions as will.be hereafter noted. In the packaging of kraft lap which is a ratherloosely felted fiber sheet the structure of which may be said to beroughly comparable to that of a loosely sheeted blotting paper, sincethis material is already of considerable density having had in itsformation what is substantially the equivalent of the first compressionof the packaging process hereof, this material was loaded into thecompression apparatus to a depth of only about 3", and the firstcompression step was not in fact a compression of the kraft lap materialsince the plunger Hwas brought down only to its normal position, thatis, to within 4" of the bottom.V of its stroke. On the second stroke,when plunger VI2 was forced inwardly, the kraft lap material was ofcourse re-arranged and compressed into the second phase of thecompression operation and then the nal compression by meansfof plungerI3 was carried out in the usual manner. A

In the experiments involved in the packaging of kapok, it was found thatthe compression apparatus should be filled with kapok to approximatelyits full height after which the various compressive steps were carriedout in the described manner. It was noted that the kapok package was notquite so firmly knit and integrated as were the other materials whenpackaged in accordance with the procedure of this invention but itappeared that this was due to the fact that the experimental apparatuswhich was being used was limited in the pressure which Vcould be appliedto the plunger I3 for the final compressive .step and all indications ofthe experiment were to the effect that had it been possible :to increasethe pressure on the last stage of the compression, the kapok packagewould have been as satisfactory as the packages of the various othermaterials used.

'I'he sieved bagasse experiments were made with material comprising rawbagasse which had been shredded in aV swing hammer shredder throughplates having 11g" holes and subsequently sieved through a 30 meshscreen, the portion which was used in the experiment being the neportion of such material which passed through the 30 mesh sieve. Thissieved material, which was only very finely fibrous settles relativelysolidly due to the 'ne subdivision so that the mere act of loading thematerial into the chamber of the compression apparatus results in a comacting which is substantially the equivalent of he rst step ofcompression of the process as applied to a more coarsely fibrousmaterial and has a density of approximately 6 lbs. per cubic foot sothat this material was loaded into the lcompression apparatus to theextent of only about 4" in depth. When plunger Il was brought down,` ofcourse the material in the apparatus was. compressed only slightly andafter this step of the operation the two following compressions werecarried out in the usual manner. This sieved bagasse, due

to its fineness, produced a block which out of the press had a densityof 58 lbs. per cubic foot but which overnight dropped to a density fabout 52 lbs. per cubic foot, thereafterremaining substantiallyconstant.

Experiments generally similar to those above described were carried onto produce finished packages having dimensions 1" x 1" x 1" and it wasfound that various phases of these experiments were substantiallysimilar to those of the experiments above described in detail exceptthat on the final stage of the compression, pressures ranging from 2 to3 times as great were required to obtain the same final results. Thenecessity of the use of the considerably higher final pressures isattributed to the fact that in the apparatusl used in producing thefinished 1" cubical packages, the ratio of the frictional'surfaces withrespect to the area of the face against which the plunger is operatingis considerably higher than in the larger apparatus whereby thefrictional resistance is much greater thus necessitating the use ofhigher pressures to accomplish equivalent final results.

A similar line of experiments was carried out on a large press producinga finished package having dimensions approximately 14" x 14" x 14". Inexperiments with this press using retted but not cooked bagasse, theframe which had internal dimensions 42" x 48"4 x 52" was filledapproximately one-third full with bagasse, and the respective strokes ofthe plungers in three directions, each at right angles to the other,were made in ksequence as described in connection with the production ofpackages in the form of 4" cubes, and with a pressure of about between2% and 3 tons per square inch on the final stroke, finished integratedand firmly coherent packages were produced having a density in theneighborhood of48 lbs. per cubic foot.

ures applicable produced in all cases reasonably satisfactory finishedpackages.

It is Yto be understood that for the purpose of speeding up theoperation for forming packages as hereinabove described or as a matterof convenience in transporting the material to be packaged from thesource of supply to the packaging operation, it may be convenient oradvisable to bale the materials in more or less conventional manner, inwhich case it is preferable kthat the bales be made to conform to theconditions which would result from the first step of the packagingoperation as described, whereupon such bales may be placed directly intothe packaging machine, with plunger Il locked at the inner end of itsnormal stroke whereupon the second and third compressions can then becarried out in sequence in accordance with the above describedprocedure.

The action of the packaging as above described is believed to be that inthe first stage of the compression, the relatively loosely arrangedfibers are compacted and pushed together along the axis in the directionin which the compression is applied, then when the second stage ofcompression is applied, these fibers are again compacted and pushedtogether along an axis at right angles to the original axis of the firstmentioned so that the net result is that the fibers Generally speakingthe experiments made,

taken as a whole, indicate: that thesuccessive compressions shouldreduce the volume of the material-in the apparatus about as follows:

On the first compression, up to 50% On the second compression- 50 to'70%, optimum about 66% On the third compression about 60 to 80%, op-

timum '70 to 75% it, of course, being understood that on the thirdcompression there is a regain on the release of the plunger pressure sothat the actual final reduction in volume is in the neighborhood of 66%.

The pressures required are about 0 to 1 ton per sq. ft. of surface onwhich pressure is applied in the first compression but with a possiblerange of 0 to 5 tons per sq. ft.; about 2 tons per sq. ft. of surface onwhich pressure is applied in the second compression with a possiblerange of 2 to l0 tons per sq. ft.; and 2 to 3 tons per s`q.in. ofsurface on which pressure is applied in the final compression 'with apossible range of 1.5 to 5 tons are successively pushed together andcompacted from each of three directions, each at right angles to oneanother and therefore the fibers are caused to firmly interweave andinterlock under the pressure of the final compression, such interweavingand interlocking being to such an extent that they are held together bythe frictional contact of the fibers to the extent that an integrateddense handleable package is produced.

It is to be understood that the above description is illustrative of theinvention and that the such description is not to be taken as limitingthe application of the invention but that it is given only for thepurpose of teaching the procedure to be followed in packaging materialsvof the character of the materials which have been specificallymentioned and that those skilled in the art, to which this inventionappertains, will readily understand from the above description theprocedure which should be followed in determining the preferred valuesto be used in forming materials other than those specifically describedinto dense integrated and self-sustaining packages having the mostdesirable characteristics.

Having disclosed and described my invention in detail, I claim:

1. 'I'he process of forming fibrous bagasse and like substances with 3to 18% moisture content applied at a right angle to axis of the firstcornpressive force and finally while held under the action of thepreviously applied compressive forces subjected to a further compressiveforce applied in a direction at a right angle to each of the previouslyapplied compressive forces, each compression force increasingViudintensity to effect final compression-of the substance to a densityin excess of 50 lbs, per cubic foot and upon release of pressure inexcesscf 30 lbs. per cubic foot.

` 2. The process as defined in claimA 1 wherein the compression is atl'a pressure of between 0 to iitons'per square `foot of surface againstwhich th'efcompressive force acts the volumetric comthe` v secondcompression is at a pressure of between 2' to 10, tons per square footof surface against which the compressive force acts the volu'- metriccompression being about 66% of the volume at the beginning. of thesecond step of compression,A and the third compression is at a pressureof between-2 to 5 tons lper square inch of surface against which thecompression force acts the volumetric compression being between 60 to80% of the volume at the beginning of the third step ofcompression. 4.The process of integrating a mass od fibrous cellulosic substance having3 to 18%- moisture c'ontent into a dense, self-sustaining package'l bysuccessive steps of compacting in three directions, each direction ofcompacting being at right angles to each of the other directions ofcompacting and 'l each ofthe successive compactings increasing thedensity of the mass to a nal compressed density. while under compressiondf compacting, of subistantially 60 tbs. per cubic foot for theintegrated 5. Theprocess of producing a dense, self-sustaining packageof cellulosic substance wherein a mass thereof having a moisturecontentl of be- Atween 3 and 18% is compressed in the direction of anaxis of compression to a volume of about pression 'being about l50% ofthe original volume,V

a moisture content of between about 3 to '18%. to successive steps ofcompression, each such succeeding step being at substantially rightangles to each of the other directions of compression and eachsuccessive compression applied being of increasing intensity. asucceeding compression applied to the liber while held confined andsubjected to the preceding compression step and steps respectively, thefibers thereof interlaced and intcrwoven to a density of not less thanlbs. per cubic footand .forming a hard, dense, commercially economicunitpackage which' is self-sustaining.

8. A self-sustaining cellulosic fiber block comprising a unit mass ofintertwined and overlapping fibrous substances of vegetative origininterlaced in such close proximity to each other that the density of themass is not less than 30 lbs. per cubic foot, such density beingobtained by the application to a substantially loose mass of suchfibrous substances having an initial density in excess of about 4#/cu.ft. and a moisture content of between 3 to 18% based on the dry weightof the mass of non-percussive pressure applied successively and withsuccessively greater intensity .off pressure per unit area towhich'applied from three independent sources applied respectively atright angular directions of application to the mass, the mass beingcontinuously conned; the first-application of non-percussive pressurecompressing the mass to a volume of substantially one-half of theoriginal mass, the second application of non-pencussive pressurecompressing the mass to a volume of about one-third of the last previousvolinne, andthe final application of nonpercussive pressure compressingthe mass to a volume of one-fourth to one-third of the volume of themass previous to the application of the final 9. An integrated andself-sustaining package of cellulosic fibers, the moisture contentthereof between about 3 lper cent to 18 per cent and the density thereofin excess of 30 pounds per cubic one-half of v'the original mass, thencompressed in the direction of an axis of compression at right y anglesto the nrst axis of compression to a volume of-aboutone-third the lastprevious volume and finally compressed in the direction of an axis atright angles to each ofthe previous directions of compression to avolume of about 25 to 33% of vthe vollnne ofthe mass previous to thelast comfpression.

6. A mass of librous cellulosic substance having 'a moisture content orbetween 3 and 18% based on dryweight of the mass, interated by at leastthree successive compactings. each acting at substantially right anglesto the preceding` compact-r 'ing causing a self-sustaining package ofdensity in excess of 30 lbs. per cubic foot to be formed.

7. A new article of commerce comprising 'bu` casse aber integrated bymmm, wml@ raving lfoot, the density throughout the mass being sub.-stantially uniform and the fibrous structure thereof interlaced andfrictionaliy interlocked throughout, predominantly in three planes andresulting from three successilve compressions of increasing intensitiesapplied each at right angles to each of the others. f

10. A self-sustaining cellulosic liber block com-'- prising a mass o`fceliulosic fibers of a moisture content of between 3 per cent to 18 percent, the nbers thereof throughout frictionally interlaced andoverlapped and resulting from the compression of the mass thereof bysuccessive and different'compressions applied from three independentsources, each acting ina plane at right angles 4to each of the others,the /density of the block throughout being inexcess of 30 pounds p'ercubic foot.

CARL G. MUENC'H.

